Get inspired by this Museum of Failure!
The newly opened 'Museum of Failure' in Sweden on failed innovations is a lesson in embracing your errors
Curated By: Madhu Kapparath
Nokia N-Gage
2003-2005
Back in the year 2000, many people carried both mobile phones and handheld game consoles. Nokia combined these two devices into one unit and launched the N-Gage in 2004. The N-Gage was not a failure of ideas - it was a failure of implementation. The device had to be disassembled to change games. And to use it as a phone, the user had to hold the phone sideways, with its thin edge against their head. This led to its mocking nickname of the ‘taco phone’. Along with design flaws, it lacked good games. However, it has been argued that the intensive development of the N-Gage spawned Finland’s thriving mobile gaming industry. Perhaps the failed N-Gage ultimately led to today’s insanely popular game Angry Birds.
2003-2005
Back in the year 2000, many people carried both mobile phones and handheld game consoles. Nokia combined these two devices into one unit and launched the N-Gage in 2004. The N-Gage was not a failure of ideas - it was a failure of implementation. The device had to be disassembled to change games. And to use it as a phone, the user had to hold the phone sideways, with its thin edge against their head. This led to its mocking nickname of the ‘taco phone’. Along with design flaws, it lacked good games. However, it has been argued that the intensive development of the N-Gage spawned Finland’s thriving mobile gaming industry. Perhaps the failed N-Gage ultimately led to today’s insanely popular game Angry Birds.
